of changing apartments, lack of wireless, nike awesomeness, and group dynamics

Gah the photo editor won't upload my photos and it's driving me nuts!

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So Saturday Ben and I stayed up all night watching movies in prep for Chloe’s owners coming back early Sunday morning. They were supposed to fly in at 7am and said they’d be to the apartment by about 8:30ish. I went to bed at 3am after almost falling asleep watching Die Hard 4 - after watching 1-3 one each night. Got up at 6:00 to shower and get the rest of the stuff packed before they got home at 8:30….But at 7am the door opened and there they were! So didn’t get to blog or email or anything 

We were totally spoiled by that apartment. The new one that we’re staying in is a typical Chinese apartment… which is Spanish for: crappy. Ha. But the price is right! And we’re now on the blue line 2! Will post photos sometime before we leave.

And wow! So today is Tuesday. Next Wednesday Ben flies and then Thursday I leave… suddenly we’re at the end.

Haha so yesterday we got up and decided to go to 798 Art district. I put on my pink! “I climed the Great Wall” shirt. I walk into the room and said, “you know what would be cool?” and then Ben turns around, throws out his arms, and says, “IF WE MATCHED?!” He had on his navy blue Great Wall shirt. Ha!

After we ate lunch on Gongti Beilu we were walking to get a taxi and from behind me I hear “MOLLY?!” and I turn around and IT’S SHASHA! We ran toward each other - almost in slow motion - squealing the whole way - and practically tackled each other! Spinning around while her dad and Ben stood by awkwardly and everyone in the restaurant stopped with their chopsticks halfway up to their mouths to watch the crazies on the sidewalk.

For those who don’t know, Shasha and I were roommates last year in Beijing. She’s awesome, Chinese born American Canadian citizen. She and Will were the best two housemates that I could’ve asked for, a great great roommate.

So we spazzed out and then Ben and I went on our way to a taxi and to the 798 Art District. It was sooo hot out we were both sweating profusely and pretty much dying between all of the galleries. The district is so awesome, though. But the best part is the new Nike exhibit that opened in the past few weeks. It’s very interactive and has shoes from famous athletes [akin to hard rock paraphernalia] and the history of how Nike and the development of all the different shoes.

It was so interactive. There were videos about how they use the labs and the motion sensors that capture every move of the athletes to see how they move and where the weight is on their feet and there were slow motion movies of athletes performing set to classical music so that dunking a basketball or jumping hurdles looked more like a dancing. And there was a room where you could put your shoe on a scale and it calculated how much the shoe weighed and how many pounds you’re lifting each year by walking in that weight of a shoe. And you could stand on a sensor and jump and watch the screen gauge your jump.

It was seriously cool. And free! Yay 798 Art District!

Afterward we went home and showered and then went to meet Shasha at Nanlouguxiang. We met friends of hers - all Asian Americans and Asian Canadians, and had SO MUCH FUN! I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. The group chemistry was phenomenal and the way they all made fun of each other for being Chinese and not speaking much actual Mandarin was awesome. Ben and I had a great time and Luke ended getting us all drunk and then Lili’s boss came to get foreigners’ opinions on a new product they’re marketing - mind you this was at like 11pm - and then he bought several rounds… and we eventually got home…

Now Ben and I are at the Rickshaw using wireless and eavesdropping on these two laowai’s next to us who are talking about infidelity and whether or not the 29 year old should stay with his girlfriend. Lovely.

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